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Wes Montgomery

Biography

It's impossible to speak of jazz guitar without mentioning the great Wes Montgomery. Montgomery picked up where Charlie Christian left off, in developing the electric guitar as a jazz instrument. From 1958 until a decade later, Montgomery was the consummate Hard Bop guitar player. He blended the lightning-quick runs of Bop with an earthy, bluesy tone. His playing featured a folksy thumb-picking style, and he would often solo in octaves, both effects making his tone rounder and fuller. Montgomery composed two jazz standards, Four on Six and West Coast Blues, and recorded dozens of Bop albums. In the mid-'60s, Montgomery began playing more commercial jazz, recording instrumental versions of pop hits and enjoying considerable financial success. During his commercial period, he also began laying the groundwork for Fusion; unfortunately, he died in 1968, before Fusion ever hit its stride. Montgomery's influence is still felt in many areas of jazz.